Seventy-five km from Chennai city, the Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary is the oldest retreat of migratory birds in India. Here, the birds have been protected by the local people for more than 250 years. The sanctuary gets its name from a nearby village. A grove of Barringlonia acutangula trees and a relatively small pond, which submerged during rains, constitute the sanctuary.

A great number of aquatic birds- both migratory and resident- flock to this place. Rare and different kinds of birds from any specific place of the world, will reach here every year particularly from America, Russia, Alaska, New Zealand, Germany and Norway by travelling over 8000 kilometres.
Peak time is immediately after the end of the rainy season. There is a Rest House and Observatory Tower in the sanctuary.